Caster for trucks



W. B. PAVEY & G. M. FRENCH. CASTER FOR TRUCKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1916.

l ,1 9%,789. Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

WILLIAM B. PAVEY AND GEORGE M. ERENeHjoF cHIcAGo, I oIs, Ass eNoEs TECONOMY ENGINEERING .coMrANY,. 0E CHICAGO, IL INois, .-A CORPORATION'OFILLINOIS.

CASTER FOR TRUCKS;

Application filed May 20, 1916. Serial No. 98,797.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. PAVEY and GEORGE M. FRENCH, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the 'county of Cook and-State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvemcnts inCasters for Trucks, ofwhich the following is a specification.

' Our invention relates to improvements 1n trucks for portable hoistsand the like-wherein by manipulation by the operator, the hoist maybemoved about the floor, but at the will of the operatorma'y be anchoredby a rigid frictional support substituted for a part ,of theanti-friction support so that the truck itself will not be free to move.

Our invention has for one ob ect to provide support of the abovementioned type which will be more easily and freely manipulated andturned bythe operator than any of those supports now in existence.

Another object is to provide a device havv ing increased stability anddurability.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the support ready tomove about with parts in section; Fig. 2 is a detail of the forward partof the truck showing the parts in a fiXed resting position; Fig. 3 afront elevation with the parts in the position shown inFig. 2; Fig: 4 asection on an enlarged scale along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Like parts are illustrated by like characters throughout its severalfigures.

A is a truck frame supported at the rear end by rollers or wheels A Ithas at its forward end ground contacting legs A A is a hoisting tower, Aa carriage adapted to travel along the tower, A a hoisting rope adaptedto raise and lower the carriage, A a Windlass whereby the rope ismanipulated. These parts form no particular part of my invention,therefore-they are described and shown 1n a more or less d1agrammat1cmanner.

,B is a yoke rigidly attached to the front end of the frameandprojecting forwardly 1 from it. Y

B is a vertically disposed pin mounted for rotation in a bearing B atthe front end of the yoke. The Washer 13 and cotter pin B preventdownward movement of this pin and hold it in position. It will be notedthat the" pin is enlarged as at B and provided with a shoulder resting.against the lower 'end of the bearing B whereby an upward pressure onthe pin will lift the forward end of the truck. The enlarged portion ofthe pin B is apertured so as to contain a knuckle or wrist-pin B. i

C is a bell crank, forked as at C to engage opposed sides of theenlarged .pin head B These forked ends are pivotally mounted onthewrist-pin B". The lower portion of the bell crank is enlarged as at CIt contains an aperture therethrough substantially rectangular in crosssection as shown in Fig. 1. The upper and lower sides of th1s aperture CC are curved as indicated. The rectangular pin ,CF rests within theaperture and is in more or less close contact with the upper and lowersides thereof at the center, but free to rock owing to the curvature ofthe sides as indicated. This pin terminates in hearings or axle membersC C at either end. Uponthese members are mounted the wheels C C, held inposition by washers C and pins C as indicated.

The forward or outer end of the bell crank terminates in a socket D,.:inwhich is engaged a handle I) wherebydt-may be manipulated. l

D is a lug projecting forwardly from the'bearing B adapted to engage thesocket 'Dand. limit its movement in a counter-.

clockwise direction.

D is a finger on the opposed end of the bell crank adapted to engage thelower portion of the bracket Bgand limit the movement of the parts in aclockwise. direction, so that the parts may be moved through an anglefrom the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig.2, andvice-versa. The handle D terminates in a forked hand engaging member Dasindicated for the convenience of-the operator.

It will be evident that while we have shown in our drawings an operativedevice, still many changes might be 'made both in size, shape andarrangement of parts, withv out departing materially from the spirit of.

our invention, and we wish therefore'that our drawings be regarded as mesense diagrammatl'c.

The use and operation of our invention is as follows: When the truck forhoist or other purposes is tobe moved about the floor,

supported on wheels or anti-friction sup-' ports as indicated. Thisresult is obtained by the operator taking thehandle and rotating it in,as shown in Fig. 1, a clockwise direction, until it assumes the positionshown in Fig. 1, with the stop engaging the under side of the bracket sothat the arm of the bell crank lever, which is pivoted on the bracket,is substantially vertical. This lifts the legs on the front end of thebody off the floor and permits the load to be entirely supported on thewheels. The sub-truck formed by the axle with the two wheels is, it willbe noted, flexible so thatit may give or bend permitting the front axleto rotate in re sponse to irregularities'in the floor or surface overwhich the device is propelled.

Moreover, the two comparatively narrow separate rollers turn more easilythan would a single integral roller so that the device gives or guidesmuch more easily than when a single integral roller is used. When thetruck is to be anchored, the operator raises the handle rotating it intothe position shown in Fig. 2, thus the arm of the bell crank lever whichis vertical in Fig. l is sharply inclined in Fig. 2, the distance be.tween the .roller and the pivot point of the bell crank lever measuredin a vertical di rection, is reduced and the legs settle down upon thefloor, and by their frictional contact with the floor hold the truckfirmly in position. The stop which comes into opera tion when the partsare in the position shown in Fig. 1 prevents the handle dropping down sothat the operator does not have to do anything except pull on it to'movethe ma chine." The stop which comes into operation when the parts are inthe position shown in Fig. 2 prevents the handle swinging over tointerfere with the operation of the hoisting device, so that the angularmovement of the handle in a vertical plane is limited between two stops.

It will be understood that the squared or rectangular portion of thecentral portion of the axle is engaged in a slot in such wise that itcannot rotate in a horizontal plane except when the bell crank lever isrotated, but it can rotate in a vertical plane owing to the curvedcontour of the walls on either sideof the slot so that the wheels giveeasily and conveniently in response to. different levels as they passover them.

We claim:

1. The combination with 5 wheeled truck' having ground contactingfrictiomsupports of a bell crank lever one arm of which is pivoted tothe frame of the truck adjacent the supports, a handle for manipulatingthis lever, the lever being free to rotate both in a horizontal and a.vertical plane with respect to the truck, an axle mounted on the leverat its central point and supporting wheels at either end of the axleseparate one from the other, said axle being free to rotate with respecttothe bell crank lever in a plane located by the axis of that arm of thebell crank lever which is pivoted to the frame.

3. The combination with a wheeled-truck having ground contactingfriction supports of a bell crank lever one arm of which is pivoted tothe frame of the truck adjacent the supports, a handle for manipulatingthis lever, the lever being free to rotate both in a horizontal and avertical plane with respect to the truck, an axle mounted on the' leverat its central point and supporting wheels at either end of the axleseparate one from the other, said axle having a squared central portion,the bell crank lever being perforate to engage such squared axleportion, the perforation having curved side walls to permit rockingmotion of the axle.

4. The combination with a wheeled truck having ground contactingfriction supports of a bell crank lever one arm of which is pivoted tothe frame of the truck adjacent the supports, a handle for manipulatingthis lever, the lever being free to rotate both in a horizontal and:avertical plane with respect to the truck, an axle mounted on the leverat its, central point and supporting wheels at either end of the axleseparate one from the other, stops provided for limiting the pivotalmovement of the bell crank and State of Illinois, this 12th day of May,

WILLIAM B. RAVEY. GEORGE MLFRENCH.

In the presence of witnesses:

MINNIE M. LINDENAU, LAUREL M. DOREMUS.

